Report from Worcester - 2/27/2013

The Report from Worcester is a weekly update on the San Jose Sharks AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks.

Sharks Snap Shot:

The Worcester Sharks (25-21-1-5, 56pts) chomped four out of a possible six points in three home games last week. The Sharks began the weekend on a sour note with their franchise tying 7th straight home loss (0-5-0-2), dropping a 7-2 decision to the Manchester Monarchs on Friday. But the Sharks bounced back with an impressive 4-1 victory over the Pirates on Saturday followed by a 5-1 win over the Falcons on Sunday afternoon to finish the 3-in-3 home weekend 2-1-0-0. Worcester is now just one point behind the 8th place CT Whale with three games in hand for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Sharks will play their 3rd consecutive 3-in-3 weekend with three straight road games this weekend (Friday at Providence, Saturday at Portland, Sunday at Springfield).

The Worcester Sharks player of the week nominee was goaltender Alex Stalock. Alex made 73 saves on 75 shots (.973 save %) in two wins this weekend which included a 36 save effort on Saturday followed by a 37 save performance on Sunday. With his 5-1 victory over the Falcons on Sunday, Al tied Thomas Greiss for the most wins in Worcester Sharks history with 74.

Few things to know:

The Sharks are currently in 3rd place (25-21-1-5, 56pts) in the Atlantic Division and 9th place overall in the Eastern Conference. – the Sharks trail the CT by one point (Sharks have three games in hand) for the final playoff spot in the East.

The San Jose Sharks currently have 10 players on their roster that have spent time in Worcester (Couture, Desjardins, Pavelski, Sheppard, Wingels, Braun, Demers, Greiss, Kennedy, and Irwin).

The San Jose Sharks are currently in 4th place in the Pacific Division with 19 points and an 8-6-3 record.

SJ Sharks recalled Forward Tim Kennedy on Feb 12. Kennedy has two goals in five games with San Jose. Tim continues to lead the Worcester Sharks with 37 points (13-24-37) in 37 games… Kennedy has a two game point streak (0-5-5) in Worcester.

Matt Irwin was recalled by the San Jose Sharks on Feb 25. Irwin has already played nine games with the SJ Sharks this season (1-1-2).

Yanni Gourde was loaned to the San Francisco Bulls on Feb 25.

Defenseman Taylor Doherty returned to the lineup on Friday after missing 29 games with a leg injury.

All-Star Bracken Kearns leads Worcester with eight power play goals and is second with seven fighting majors.

Matt Pelech scored his first goal in 80 games, his first goal as a forward in the Sharks 5-1W over the Falcons on Feb 24. Pelech ranks 5th in the AHL with 186 penalty minutes.

Jimmy Bonneau scored his first goal of the season in the Sharks 4-1W vs. the Pirates on Feb 23. It was his first goal since Feb 18, 2012 at Connecticut.

Worcester has a 16-11-1-3 record vs. the Atlantic Division this season. – best record within the division.

The Sharks are tied for 1st in the AHL with 16 one-goal wins. Worcester is 16-6-1-5 in one goal games this season. – Worcester is 12-3-0-2 in one goal games on the road this season – best in AHL.

The Sharks lead the AHL with 6 wins when trailing after 40 minutes of play this season (6-15-0-4). In addition the Sharks are 8-4-0-1 when tied after 40 minutes of play.

Coach Roy Sommer currently ranks 4th in the AHL with 534 wins in his career (15th season) and 3rd in games coached in the AHL with 1168. Sommer is three games behind Fred “Bun” Cook (1171 games coached) for 2nd most in AHL history.

The Sharks are hosting an online jersey auction to benefit the Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts! Click HERE to post your bids though March 6 at 8pm (est).

The Sharks play their 3rd consecutive 3-in-3 weekend with three road contests this weekend (Friday at Providence, Saturday at Portland, and Sunday at Springfield).

Top 3… Last Week

Alex Stalock makes 37 saves in 5-1 win vs. Falcons on Sunday for his 74th career victory with the Sharks!

Jimmy Bonneau scores his first goal of the season in 4-1 win vs. Pirates on Saturday!

Matt Pelech scores his first goal of the season in 5-1 win vs. the Falcons on Sunday!

2.22.13 – Manchester 7 – Worcester 2 – L – DCU Center
The Worcester Sharks (23-21-1-5, 52pts) kicked off a 3-in-3 home weekend with a 7-2 loss to the Manchester Monarchs (23-24-2-3, 51pts) on Friday evening in front of 3,978 fans at the DCU Center. Harri Sateri allowed seven goals on 31 shots and Bracken Kearns added two assists as the Sharks tied a franchise record with their 7th straight home loss (0-5-0-2). Matt Tennyson and Jon Matsumoto scored for Worcester and Taylor Doherty returned to the lineup after missing the last 29 games due to injury. Seven different Monarchs recorded multi point games led by two goals by Brandon Kozun.

2.23.13 – Portland 1 – Worcester 4 – W – DCU Center
The Worcester Sharks (24-21-1-5, 54pts) defeated the division rival Portland Pirates (30-19-1-1, 62pts) by a score of 4-1 on Saturday evening in front of 5,045 fans at the DCU Center. The Sharks wore specialty jerseys in the game to benefit the Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts and broke a seven game home losing skid at the DCU Center. First period goals by Danny Groulx (3rd), Bracken Kearns (13th), and Jimmy Bonneau (1st) was the difference-maker in the game, as the Sharks got the early lead and never looked back. Matt Tennyson (5th) also added a goal of his own in the second period to give the Sharks a 4-0 lead, before Phil Lane (5th) got the Pirates on the board early in the third period. Alex Stalock was awesome in net, stopping all but one of the 37 shots that he faced in the game.

2.24.13 – Springfield 1 – Worcester 5 – W – DCU Center
The Worcester Sharks (25-21-1-5, 56pts) defeated the conference rival Springfield Falcons (30-14-4-3, 67pts) by a score of 5-1 on Sunday afternoon in front of 4,034 fans at the DCU Center. The Sharks capped off their 3-in-3 weekend with four out of a possible six points. In the win, Alex Stalock made 37 saves and tied the Sharks all-time wins mark, previously held by Thomas Greiss with 74. Matt Pelech (1st) and Marek Viedensky (1st) each added their first goal of the season in the win. Sebastian Stalberg (7th), Danny Groulx (4th), and James Livingston (4th) also added goals for the Sharks. Michael Chaput (9th) scored the Falcon’s lone goal around the midway point of the second period to make it a 2-1 game at the time. Heading into the third period leading 2-1, the Sharks were able to put Springfield away with three third period goals.